5 Wrestlers who have appeared in both WWE and AEW in 2020

The war between AEW and WWE has heated up over the past year since there have been several former WWE stars making the surprise jump over to AEW. When All Elite Wrestling first put out feelers, it was alleged that Vince McMahon's company tried their best to keep their stars under contracts to prevent them from looking over their shoulder at their newest competition.

Since AEW made its debut as a television show back in 2019 there have been many stars making the move including former World Champion Dean Ambrose who is now Jon Moxley and former Undisputed WWE Champion Chris Jericho.

Interestingly, several other stars have joined AEW's ranks in 2020, which means that there are now a handful of WWE stars who have wrestled for both WWE and AEW over the past 12 months.

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#5. Former WWE star Taynara Conti

Taynara Conti signed for WWE back in 2016 and went on to make headlines back at WrestleMania 34 when she competed in the Women's WrestleMania Battle Royal. Even though Conti didn't make a huge impact in the match, she made history as the first-ever Brazilian wrestler to compete at WrestleMania.

Earlier in the year, there were rumors that Conti had been released from WWE before she made her return to the ring at a WWE live event wearing a shirt that said "Released" which mocked the online rumors.

In April as part of WWE's mass talent cull, Conti was released from the company and later resurfaced in AEW in August. The former WWE star participated in the AEW Women's Tag Team Tournament and it was later announced in September that, under her new name of Tay Conti, she had signed a contract with All Elite Wrestling.

#4. Former WWE star Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy and his brother Jeff returned to WWE back at WrestleMania 33, which was one of the biggest shocks of the show. Matt Hardy later went on to debut his "Woken" gimmick in WWE and feuded with Bray Wyatt.

Hardy and his brother Jeff were able to win the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Championships as part of their last run with the company before the older brother made the decision to not renew his contract.

Hardy noted in a Youtube video ahead of his WWE release that he was on a different page with WWE creative and had many creative ideas to give.

Just weeks later, the former Champion made his surprise debut on AEW Dynamite where he reverted back to his "Broken" gimmick and was announced as the replacement for Nick Jackson at Blood and Guts.

Hardy has since feuded with Sammy Guevara and The Inner Circle over the past few months and has been able to have much more creative freedom throughout his time in AEW.

#3. Former WWE star Miro

Rusev was once seen as a popular star in WWE, which is why it came as such a shock when he was released from the company back in April. The former United States Champion was reported to have been dragging his feet when it came to signing a new contract with WWE, but it was believed that he would have in the future.

Rusev's wife Lana had already penned a five-year deal with WWE but it appears that The Bulgarian Brute decided against re-signing and was then released as part of the company's budget cuts.

His final WWE match came back in February when he teamed with Humberto Carrillo in a losing effort against Angel Garza and Bobby Lashley.

On the September 9th episode of AEW Dynamite, Rusev made a shock appearance under the new name Miro, where he was revealed as the best man for Kip Sabian's wedding. Just weeks later, he made his in-ring debut teaming with Sabian against Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss in a winning effort.

#2. Former WWE Tag Team Champions FTR

The Revival changed the tag-team dynamic in WWE whilst they were part of the NXT brand and were even able to lift the NXT Tag Team Championships. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were later promoted to the main roster and even though they were able to become triple crown Tag Team Champions, it was publically noted that the duo was unhappy with their position in the company.

Wilder and Dawson requested their release from WWE several times and have since been outspoken about their time as part of Vince McMahon's company, and the tag team division that they attempted to revamp.

The Revival first requested their WWE releases back in January 2019 but it wasn't until 15 months later that the company finally granted their release in April 2020. The duo's final match came back on January 31st where they lost a fatal four-way match to The Miz and John Morrison on SmackDown.

Just weeks later, Dawson and Wilder made their debut on AEW Dynamite under the new name of FTR. The duo established themselves as babyfaces and later stepped into a feud with The Butcher and The Blade. In July 2020, the former WWE stars signed multi-year contracts with AEW.

#1. Former WWE star Zack Ryder

Zack Ryder was part of WWE for 15 years before his release in April 2020, which could be why it was so hard for the WWE Universe to digest. Ryder was a popular star with the WWE Universe and someone that many believed wasn't given the opportunities that he deserved.

In the months leading up to his WWE release, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins were still part of a team but lost to The Viking Raiders at Elimination Chamber. Just weeks later, Ryder was released from WWE.

In July 2020, under the name Matt Cardona, the former WWE star made his debut for AEW where he saved Cody Rhodes from an attack from Alex Reynolds and John Silver. He later teamed with Cody to defeat the duo before later appearing at All Out in eight-man tag team action.

Cardona later announced that he had a limited appearance deal with AEW and following All Out in September, this deal had expired and he was no longer part of the company.